Today I spilled a cup of ginger ale on the computer I turned it upside down and wiped all the liquid off. I put it on an air conditioner at my work and after about an hour I turned it back on the screen was on but the color was blue. The screen would NOT turn back on after that. The computer would power up and the keyboard would light up but there was no reaction from the screen.

I turned it off and kept it upside down, hoping to drain all the water out, and now when I try to turn it on the screen flickers (a bit of an improvement) any advice?

Oron J

May 16, 2014 at 2:03 pm

I agree with the others here. You were too to quick to act. Your best bet is to take it in for repair. With any luck, it'll just be the keyboard that will need replacing, and these are relatively inexpensive (probably $15-40, depending on the laptop). There will be some labour costs too, but again, simply replacing a keyboard is (usually) a 5-10 minute job, so this may not be a disaster yet.

For future reference, what you should do if it ever happens again (hope not!) is remove the battery, give it a quick spray of clean water over the affected area, and then tilt the laptop at 90 degrees so that all liquids to drain. Keep it in a warm area to allow it to drain and wait a day or two to dry out completely. If you live in a humid environment, using rice, silica gel or a dehimidifier to help absorb the water may also help. Only after every last drop has definitely dried out should you put the battery in and try switching the laptop on again.

dragonmouth

May 15, 2014 at 12:21 pm

I agree with Rajaa, let the professionals handle the recovery.

Ginger Ale has other ingredients besides water, one of them being sugar. If enough of the drink got into your laptop, it could have gummed up the electrical contacts. Depending on the internal condition and the age of your laptop, it may be cheaper to get a new one than to properly clean up the old one.

In the future, make it an iron-clad rule to keep ALL food and drink at least 10 feet away from any electronic device and that includes computers, tablets and phones.

It is never a good idea to turn on a device while still wet, even if you may think it is dry enough after a couple hours. Doing so can cause a short on the motherboard, monitor, or elsewhere. We, unfortunately, cannot diagnose the laptop without looking at it and testing with meters and other tools.

Rajaa Chowdhury

May 15, 2014 at 1:13 am

Kindly take it to the nearest service centre and explain the problem and the cause of it for a correct diagnostic.